1960 · thriller · drama
The Bad Sleep Well
Directed by Akira Kurosawa2h 30m1960
In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.
Our read: The Bad Sleep Well (1960) reads as a heavy, steady, grounded thriller · drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.
Heavy, steady, measured thriller / drama, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.
- heavy
- intense
- bleak
- cold
- twisty
- signature
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